Children on Drugs
Last week PBS' Frontline ran a powerful story by producer, writer and director Marcela Gaviria about the steep increase in psychiatric medicines that children are receiving. "The Medicated Child" explores the possible impact on kids of drugs that are just starting to be tested on people of their age. The story is full of compelling examples of heavily medicated children such as Jacob Solomon, who was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin when he was 5. By age 10, Jacob had taken eight different medications. "The Medicated Child" takes an especially penetrating look at why 1 million kids have been diagnosed with bipolar disorders, a 4,000 percent increase since 1996. The Web version of this story comes with a useful "Guide for Parents." www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/